By admin 
When Adan Garcia found out his father needed a kidney transplant, the 28-year-old Fresno resident didn’t hesitate to donate one of his own.
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His father, Adan Garcia Hernandez, had developed kidney failure as a complication of Type 2 diabetes. A kidney transplant was needed to save his life. The surgery took place April 30 at a San Francisco hospital. Garcia said his father was diagnosed with diabetes at 25 and had lived with it for half of his life. He turned 52 in August.
“It’s the best gift any son can do for a father,” Garcia Hernandez said.
Back in Fresno while recovering from the surgery, Garcia was unable to work or stay active the way he was used to, and recovery was harder than what he had anticipated.
Garcia, a Fresno State civil engineering graduate, said he needed something positive to focus on. He started documenting his journey, streaming and online content creation as Chitooo559.
He completed a YouTube eight-minute, 47-second documentary in July that narrates his donation story and how he discovered streaming and content creation as he built a growing community around sports and gaming.
“This journey has shown me that one of life’s most difficult moments can also become the beginning of something meaningful,” Garcia said.
What started as something to stay motivated during that time, Garcia said, it has grown into “a community that has reached more than 2 million views across social media.”
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Garcia shared his story over the summer, using his platform to encourage organ donations and raise awareness about diabetes and kidney disease. His goal is to inspire others who might be “facing difficult circumstances and show that setbacks can lead to new opportunities.”
Garcia, now back to working full time as a project manager in Fresno, said his father had a minor infection that placed him back in the hospital for a couple of days in mid-August. Since then, his father has been released from the hospital, has returned to work without any issues and will become a grandfather.
“Life has changed for the better for both of us,” Garcia said. “I am incredibly happy that he will have the opportunity to meet his first grandchild and watch him grow up, something he was not sure he would be able to experience before the transplant.”
Garcia said he and his wife don’t have children yet, but seeing his only brother start a family and knowing that his dad will be there to enjoy those special moments as grandfather means a lot to him.
“I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given, and I would not want life any other way,” Garcia said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2026 at 5:27 AM with the headline “Living kidney donor uses platform to inspire others. ‘Life has changed for the better’.”
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